Crayola Announces the Retirement of Dandelion on National Crayon Day

During its March 31 celebration of National Crayon Day, Crayola announced that to make room for a new, exciting member of the Blue color family, its treasured color Dandelion will be retiring after years of delighting children and fans around the world.

Crayola's celebration of color and creativity took place in the heart of Times Square, in a colorfully immersive plaza, complete with a larger than life 25 foot tall crayon box, giant coloring mural, and interactive creative activities for kids of all ages.

"The essence of the Crayola brand is color, creativity and fun and our mission is to spark the creative spirit in children," said Smith Holland, President and CEO of Crayola. "With Dandelion retiring, we are very excited to celebrate this day and to share these unique creative experiences with our fans."

Joining the event was the Pentatonix, the three-time Grammy Award-Winning and Multi-Platinum selling a cappella group, who colored the event with their one-of-a-kind arrangements and unparalleled harmonies celebrating creativity and honoring the color Dandelion.

Erik Wahl, an internationally recognized graffiti artist and #1 best-selling author, helped Crayola further celebrate by creating his signature and inspiring "Art of Vision" artwork, and by talking about the power and importance of creativity.

To celebrate the color Dandelion, Crayola will be sending the Dandelion crayon character on a retirement tour around the country. Consumers can keep track of his whereabouts by visiting an interactive map at http://www.Crayola.com/Tour.

There will also be a surprise tour stop along the way that consumers can influence – By tagging a post with #CelebrateDandelion along with a geotagged location on Instagram, Dandelion might just show up in your backyard!

"As we celebrate National Crayon Day and Dandelion, we are also extremely excited to share what color comes next," said Melanie Boulden, Senior Vice President, US & Global Marketing at Crayola. "Not only are we introducing a new Blue to the world to take Dandelion's place, but we will invite our fans to be a part of Crayola history by naming it."

For more information on Dandelion, visit http://www.Crayola.com/Retirement. To see a highlight reel of Dandelion's top moments, http://www.Crayola.com/Tour.

Dandelion crayons will continue to appear in Crayola crayon boxes while supplies last

Stay tuned for the announcement in May, when Crayola will ask fans to help them name this new shade of Blue. For more details, visit http://www.Crayola.com/NewColor.

About Crayola - Crayola LLC, based in Easton, Pa. and a subsidiary of Hallmark Cards, Incorporated, is the worldwide leader in children's creative expression products. Known for the iconic Crayola Crayon first introduced in 1903, the Crayola brand has grown into a portfolio of innovative art tools, crafting activities and creativity toys that offer children innovative new ways to use color to create everything imaginable. Consumers can find the wide array of Crayola products in the "Crayola Aisle" at all major retailers. For more information visit http://www.crayola.com or join the community at http://www.facebook.com/crayola.